Do you have Facebook flab? Computer use could make you eat too much, warns professor

Computer games, the internet and social networking sites may be fuelling the obesity crisis by changing the workings of the brain, an eminent scientist has warned.

Baroness Susan Greenfield, director of the Royal Institution, said constant computer use could be 'infantilising' the brain, making it harder to learn when things go wrong.

While a child who falls out of a tree will quickly learn not to repeat the mistake, someone who goes wrong on a computer game will just keep playing.

Baroness Greenfield says constant computer use may result in changes of the brain, making it harder for the user to learn when things are wrong

Risks - and the thrill achieved when the pay off - may also seem more appealing.

As a result, people will eat too much, or eat the wrong foods, without thinking about the consequences.

The researcher, who has previously linked computer use to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, said: 'Anyone eating knows the consequences of eating but somehow the thrill of that experience will trump the consequences.'

Computer use could be cutting attention spans, stifling imagination and hampering empathy, she said.

As a result, the parts of the brain involved in these traits will not develop properly.

The workings of a highly sophisticated region called the pre-frontal cortex are of particular concern, she told a science seminar at the House of Lords.

'You use it or lose it,' she said. 'And if you don't use it, you are infantilising the brain, it won't come on stream as much, that's the hypothesis.'

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Studies show that when the pre-frontal cortex is damaged, making it less active, people take more risks and become more reckless.

And the fatter people are, the less active the brain region.

'Perhaps it could be the case that screen cultures might predispose brains to have under-functioning pre-frontal cortexes,' she said.

Lady Greenfield, director of the Royal Institution, also believes that the quick-fire world of modern technology might be behind the 'alarming' rise in ADHD and the growth in the use of anti-hyperactivity drug Ritalin.

She said: 'This is just a suggestion, I am not saying it is a causal relationship. But surely if we are exposing our brains to an environment that has a short attention span, if that happens to you in your first few years of life for long periods of time, might it be the case that when they go to school and are asked to sit still for half an hour, might there not be some cases of fidgeting?'

Autism - which is characterised by the inability to empathise with others - may also be linked to computer use she said.

But despite the potential dangers, she does not believe the answer lies in limiting computer use, as this could simply make it seem even more appealing.

She said: 'If you are stopping someone from doing something, that is not ideal.

'If you are telling someone to not to do something, you must give them an alternative.

'What we need is research to find out why it is so addictive.

'Between the ages of 10 and 11, kids this this country spend 900 hours at school, just under 1,300 hours with their family and just under 2,000 hours in front of the screen.

'Anyone who says that we shouldn't worry and that I am scare-mongering should look at these figures.'

Share or comment on this article:

Do you have Facebook flab? Computer use could make you eat too much, warns professor